Developing the wider role of business in society: the experience of Microsoft in developing training and supporting employability.

The purpose of this paper is to describe Microsoft's activities in encouraging employability and to show how these activities provide strategic advantage

Inclusive practice in Italian schools: Body and music for listening and sharing without words

This paper illustrates the work developed by the Italian partners in the LINK Project, Learning in a New Key, in relation to the implementation of specific training for school teachers to promote inclusive teaching practice through music and expressive body languages. The theoretical principles and framework of expressive therapies like music therapy and dance movement therapy will be discussed and we will consider how they have informed the work of professional music and dance-movement therapists in implementing the training programme. School teachers have been involved in a series of musical and expressive-body experiences to experiment and elaborate new strategies and knowledge to promote their empathic, relational and creative competences for  their educational work. They have also been supported in implementing a series of class based creative activities oriented by the same principles and enhancing a relational and emotional approach in teaching practice. The paper will discuss how teachers and vulnerable young people have experienced transferable skills that might be significant in school and in lifelong learning. In line with the participatory action research paradigm that the project’s partners agreed on, the paper will also describe the study carried out by the researchers to analyse the impact of actions implemented during the project both on students and teachers of classrooms involved

The Fittest versus the Flattest: Experimental Confirmation of the Quasispecies Effect with Subviral Pathogens

The “survival of the fittest” is the paradigm of Darwinian evolution in which the best-adapted replicators are favored by natural selection. However, at high mutation rates, the fittest organisms are not necessarily the fastest replicators but rather are those that show the greatest robustness against deleterious mutational effects, even at the cost of a low replication rate. This scenario, dubbed the “survival of the flattest”, has so far only been shown to operate in digital organisms. We show that “survival of the flattest” can also occur in biological entities by analyzing the outcome of competition between two viroid species coinfecting the same plant. Under optimal growth conditions, a viroid species characterized by fast population growth and genetic homogeneity outcompeted a viroid species with slow population growth and a high degree of variation. In contrast, the slow-growth species was able to outcompete the fast species when the mutation rate was increased. These experimental results were supported by an in silico model of competing viroid quasispecies

Clinical and Prognostic Implications of Right Ventricular Uptake on Bone Scintigraphy in Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: The extent of myocardial bone tracer uptake with technetium pyrophosphate, hydroxymethylene diphosphonate, and 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylate in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) might reflect cardiac amyloid burden and be associated with outcome. METHODS: Consecutive patients with ATTR-CM who underwent diagnostic bone tracer scintigraphy with acquisition of whole-body planar and cardiac single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images from the National Amyloidosis Centre and 4 Italian centers were included. Cardiac uptake was defined according to the Perugini classification: 0=absent cardiac uptake; 1=mild uptake less than bone; 2=moderate uptake equal to bone; and 3=high uptake greater than bone. Extent of right ventricular (RV) uptake was defined as focal (basal segment of the RV free wall only) or diffuse (extending beyond basal segment) on the basis of SPECT imaging. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Among 1422 patients with ATTR-CM, RV uptake accompanying left ventricular uptake was identified by SPECT imaging in 100% of cases at diagnosis. Median follow-up in the whole cohort was 34 months (interquartile range, 21 to 50 months), and 494 patients died. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, diffuse RV uptake on SPECT imaging (n=936) was associated with higher all-cause mortality compared with focal (n=486) RV uptake (77.9% versus 22.1%; P<0.001), whereas Perugini grade was not associated with survival (P=0.27 in grade 2 versus grade 3). On multivariable analysis, after adjustment for age at diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.03 [95% CI, 1.02-1.04]; P<0.001), presence of the p.(V142I) TTR variant (HR, 1.42 [95% CI, 1.20-1.81]; P=0.004), National Amyloidosis Centre stage (each category, P<0.001), stroke volume index (HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.97-0.99]; P=0.043), E/e' (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.007-1.03]; P=0.004), right atrial area index (HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02-1.08]; P=0.001), and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.03-1.09]; P<0.001), diffuse RV uptake on SPECT imaging (HR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.26-2.04]; P<0.001) remained an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. The prognostic value of diffuse RV uptake was maintained across each National Amyloidosis Centre stage and in both wild-type and hereditary ATTR-CM (P<0.001 and P=0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Diffuse RV uptake of bone tracer on SPECT imaging is associated with poor outcomes in patients with ATTR-CM and is an independent prognostic marker at diagnosis

Clinical and Prognostic Implications of Right Ventricular Uptake on Bone Scintigraphy in Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy

Background: The extent of myocardial bone tracer uptake with technetium pyrophosphate, hydroxymethylene diphosphonate, and 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylate in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) might reflect cardiac amyloid burden and be associated with outcome. Methods: Consecutive patients with ATTR-CM who underwent diagnostic bone tracer scintigraphy with acquisition of whole-body planar and cardiac single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images from the National Amyloidosis Centre and 4 Italian centers were included. Cardiac uptake was defined according to the Perugini classification: 0=absent cardiac uptake; 1=mild uptake less than bone; 2=moderate uptake equal to bone; and 3=high uptake greater than bone. Extent of right ventricular (RV) uptake was defined as focal (basal segment of the RV free wall only) or diffuse (extending beyond basal segment) on the basis of SPECT imaging. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: Among 1422 patients with ATTR-CM, RV uptake accompanying left ventricular uptake was identified by SPECT imaging in 100% of cases at diagnosis. Median follow-up in the whole cohort was 34 months (interquartile range, 21 to 50 months), and 494 patients died. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, diffuse RV uptake on SPECT imaging (n=936) was associated with higher all-cause mortality compared with focal (n=486) RV uptake (77.9% versus 22.1%; P<0.001), whereas Perugini grade was not associated with survival (P=0.27 in grade 2 versus grade 3). On multivariable analysis, after adjustment for age at diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.03 [95% CI, 1.02-1.04]; P<0.001), presence of the p.(V142I) TTR variant (HR, 1.42 [95% CI, 1.20-1.81]; P=0.004), National Amyloidosis Centre stage (each category, P<0.001), stroke volume index (HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.97-0.99]; P=0.043), E/e' (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.007-1.03]; P=0.004), right atrial area index (HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02-1.08]; P=0.001), and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.03-1.09]; P<0.001), diffuse RV uptake on SPECT imaging (HR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.26-2.04]; P<0.001) remained an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. The prognostic value of diffuse RV uptake was maintained across each National Amyloidosis Centre stage and in both wild-type and hereditary ATTR-CM (P<0.001 and P=0.02, respectively). Conclusions: Diffuse RV uptake of bone tracer on SPECT imaging is associated with poor outcomes in patients with ATTR-CM and is an independent prognostic marker at diagnosis

International Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide, have not been quantified.OBJECTIVES The study sought to assess COVID-19`s impact on global cardiovascular diagnostic procedural volumes and safety practices.METHODS The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing alterations in cardiovascular procedure volumes and safety practices resulting from COVID-19. Noninvasive and invasive cardiac testing volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared with those from March 2019. Availability of personal protective equipment and pandemic-related testing practice changes were ascertained.RESULTS Surveys were submitted from 909 inpatient and outpatient centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 108 countries. Procedure volumes decreased 42% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. Transthoradc echocardiography decreased by 59%, transesophageat echocardiography 76%, and stress tests 78%, which varied between stress modalities. Coronary angiography (invasive or computed tomography) decreased 55% (p &lt; 0.001 for each procedure). hi multivariable regression, significantly greater reduction in procedures occurred for centers in countries with lower gross domestic product. Location in a low-income and lower-middle-income country was associated with an additional 22% reduction in cardiac procedures and less availability of personal protective equipment and teteheatth.CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing across the globe, especially affecting the world's economically challenged. Further study of cardiovascular outcomes and COVID-19-related changes in care delivery is warranted. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Progettazione delle fondazioni di un ponte ed analisi dell'interazione terreno - struttura

La seguente tesi analizza l'interazione tra il terreno e la struttura di fondazione della pila di un ponte. Lo svolgimento dell'elaborato si è svolto in fasi, tramite l'utilizzo del software agli elementi finiti PLAXIS 2D. Partendo dalla prima fase, in cui il modello presenta unicamente il terreno, i plinto ed i pali di fondazione, si è potuto analizzare il comportamento del suolo; nelle fasi successive è stata inserita la pila del ponte, così da studiare un comportamento più realistico. L'ultima fase ha permesso di studiare la struttura soggetta alle azione sismiche, oltre ai carichi dovuti all'impalcato, mettendo in evidenza i risultati riguardanti il cedimento della fondazione ed i momenti sui pali più sollecitati. Lo scopo di questa trattazione è stato quello di approfondire l'interazione del terreno con la struttura di fondazione, mettendo in luce gli aspetti principali da tenere in considerazione

Developing the wider role of business in society: the experience of Microsoft in developing training and supporting employability

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe Microsoft's activities in encouraging employability and to show how these activities provide strategic advantageDesign/methodology/approachTwo of Microsoft's corporate responsibility initiatives linked to the development of employment in Europe are described and it is shown how these activities have created sustainable competitive advantage for Microsoft through an analysis of industrial organisation economics and the resource‐based view of the firm. Reflects on the characteristics of these involvements and points to aspects which may have wider applicability.FindingsInvolvement in societal projects can contribute intangible assets to the firm whilst delivering social value. However these projects are part of wider coordinated activities with other organisations and with government.Research limitationsThese are reflections on participation in business and hence the conclusions are not representative and the analysis is unstructured.Practical implicationsThese case studies will show other businesses how to think about their corporate social responsibility activities from a strategic viewpoint and will allow academics to see how business develops such strategies.Originality/valueThese are rare descriptions of such projects, which are becoming more common in business.</jats:sec